page_title: Jämtland
section_title: Turbulent times
hierarchical_section_title: Jämtland / History / Turbulent times
caption_attribution_description: Historical map of Jämtland, Härjedalen and their surroundings
context_page_description: Jämtland is a historical province in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norway to the west. Jämtland covers an area of 34,009 square kilometres, 8.3% of Sweden's total area and is the second largest province in Sweden. It has a population of 115,331, the majority of whom live in Storsjöbygden, the area surrounding lake Storsjön. Östersund is Jämtland's only city and is the 24th most populous city in Sweden.
  Jämtland was originally an autonomous peasant republic, its own nation with its own law, currency and parliament. Jämtland was conquered by Norway in 1178 and stayed Norwegian for over 450 years until it was ceded to Sweden in 1645. The province has since been Swedish for roughly 370 years, though the population did not gain Swedish citizenship until 1699. The province's identity is manifested with the concept of a republic within the kingdom of Sweden, although this is only done semi-seriously.
  Historically, socially and politically Jämtland has been a special territory between Norway and Sweden.
context_section_description: After Norway was forced into a personal union with Denmark (Denmark-Norway) in 1536 Jämtland came to be governed from Copenhagen. When the reformation (Catholicism survived in some places into the 17th century) was forced upon the population when the kings took control of the church. Sweden's separation from the Kalmar Union transferred Jämtland from a central Scandinavian region into a border region between two aggressive states.  This eventually led to conflict, first in 1563 during the Nordic Seven Years' War (after which Jämtland was put under the diocese of Nidaros), then in 1611 during the Kalmar War. Conflict continued and Jämtland was occupied yet again in 1644 during the Hannibal War by Swedish forces under the command of Henrik Fleming. The Swedish troops were however quickly driven out by Norwegians and locals. Sweden did however win that war in the south and received Jämtland as a part of the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645.
  After this Denmark-Norway tried to regain the province, first in 1657 (Dano-Swedish war of 1657) where the Norwegians were hailed as liberators. Then for a longer period in 1677 with the conquest of Jemtland. The Jamts conducted snapphane (guerilla) warfare against the Swedish army and during this time a Jamt from Lockne, the first known Jamtish poet, wrote a scurrilous song that was sung throughout the province during the war. It involved the Swedish governor of Jämtland and he had the song translated into Swedish from Jamtish and sent to the king. The last segment of the song was the most derisive one (direct English translation to the right):
  Vii hafva nu lefft uti 30 åhrs tijdh
  allt under Sveriges chrona
  uti strijdh och tyrani ingen persohn att skona.
  Tiig vari priss o Gudh, vår vän,
  som gaf oss danske kungen igen
  med gledie.
  We have now lived for 30 years time
  certainly under the Swedish crown
  through battle and tyranny no person to spare
  You be praised oh God, our friend
  who gave us the Danish king again
  with joy.
  The conquest failed and once Jämtland was in Swedish hands a Swedification process began. The Diocese of Härnösand was instituted at the Swedish coast. Schools were established (to direct the Jamts away from Trondheim). The population did not receive Swedish citizenship until 1699. Thus the Jamts were the last people from an acquired territory in Sweden to become Swedish.
  The Jamtish people maintained some self-governance. The Jamtamót had been transformed into a Danish landsting in the early 16th century. Even though it was banned in the end of the same century, it continued to be held in secret. After the transition to Sweden some parts were transmitted into a Swedish landsjämnadsting.
  Sweden's intentions in the province were first and foremost focused on defense, which led to a burden on the Jamtish farmers. The Jamts managed to enforce a treaty in 1688 which stated that Jamts were under no circumstances obligated to defend anything but their own province. This treaty was eventually broken by king Charles XII and Jamts participated in Carl Gustaf Armfeldt's Norwegian campaign during the Great Northern War. The campaign was unsuccessful and when Charles XII died in southern Norway Armfeldt marched back to Jämtland. On New Year's Eve 1718 a massive blizzard arose and over 3,000 Caroleans succumbed in Jämtland's mountains mostly due to poor clothing. The time that followed "the Age of Liberty" brought changes to the province's agriculture, with significances such as the potato and better granaries through national politics. The standard of living was greatly improved during this period. However, the visions and ideas behind the improvements also led to one of the greatest environmental disasters in Scandinavia when the lake Ragundasjön was drained and the great rapid Gedungsen cut off, creating the so-called "dead waterfall". It was the result of a project that sought to circumvent the obstacle posed by the waterfall for timber transportation on Indalsälven.
caption: Jämtland – the land in between (mitt emellom). There are only a few kilometers to the Bothnian Sea as well as to the Norwegian Sea, which has led Jämtland often to be occupied by foreign powers. This map from 1905 shows the then Jämtland County, comprising Jämtland and Härjedalen.
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